March 31, 2009

Hiding in the heart of the warehouse district of Portland is a museum of toys. Protected behind glass to keep them safe from little hands, lies the childhood of many. A true piece of history is in each toy telling us stories ranging from the late 1800’s to the 1930’s. Ward Jenkins visited the museum with his two children and was surprised at what he found.

May 18, 2008

Take a One Minute Vacation to the Wildwood Recreation Area. While I was filming the latest Walking Video, I took a break and watched the water for a minute. Come along with me and relax by the Salmon River.

May 16, 2008

I never expect to be able to eat well when I’m in rural areas. I’m perfectly willing to eat in any greasy spoon they offer me, but I am rarely surprised or pleased with the food. Thai Home, in Sandy, Oregon, however, was a delightful exception to the rule.

Mike ordered the Massaman Curry. It was a perfect blend and Mike gobbled it up.

Of course, I ate my Jungle Curry before I could even snap a photo. Yum! It had these peppercorns in it that gave it a spicy flavor.

Our meal came with a sample of this tapioca dish. It was slightly sweet with a hint of cream. I’ve never had a dessert of tapioca, corn and rice noodles, so it was a surprising delight.

If you are visiting the Mt. Hood area in Oregon, you need to eat at Thai Home!

Portland has been a gas stop on the way for Mt. Hood for me, so it’s inviting to hear what a newly transplanted family thinks about the place.

“It’s been so easy to love this new city of mine, with what seems to be TONS of things to do with kids in tow. We just recently checked out the Oaks Amusement Park this past Friday, and, even though it wasn’t like good ol’ Six Flags Over Georgia (Monster Plantation, anyone?), it still had the wonder and awe that only old skool rides can make for summer memories. They even had a roller rink, which I SWEAR had the exact smell of the 1970’s — they should somehow bottle it up and sell it on the street corners of America. I’d buy it. Ava and Ezra were loving the kiddie rides, all of which bordered on the “carny” side. In fact, the entire park screamed CARNY — they just never left town. (The park’s been a staple of SE Portland since 1905!) It was the perfect ending to a great summer.”

Ward has been a faithful lover of Atlanta, but it looks like Portland has won his heart. Welcome to the Wild West, Ward!

February 23, 2007

We just received this postcard from Brian D. in Oregon. It’s amazing that it arrived to us because it was damaged in the shipping. If you can see, our P.O. Box number was accidentally ripped off of the card. Fortunately, Brian had inadvertently written our box number as the zip code and then crossed it out. I don’t think it could have gotten to us otherwise.

Serendipity!

Brian says he’s surprised that Oregon isn’t listed in one of my places to visit, and quite frankly, I’m surprised as well. Mike and I spent a lovely week in Oregon last year at the foot of Mount Hood. I’m shocked I didn’t write about it. Never fear, Brian! I’m going to drag out the photographs I took and write a few entries about our lovely stay in Oregon!

Please send me a postcard from your travels or your hometown. If you do and it’s interesting, I will publish your postcard on Starling Travel.

William tried contacting the town to see how they fared in this early Dot Boom deal:

Without an operative [town website] in place, I hit the phones, calling local businesses like the Clear Creek Farm Bed & Breakfast, the Birch Leaf Guest House, the Hillside Bed & Breakfast and the Halfway Supper Club: no answer anywhere. I assumed Angela’s Beauty Salon might be open for business on a summer afternoon — yet here, too: no answer. I left a message at Ronda Dillman Insurance Agency. Finally, I tried The Shop (”Need your car checked out? At The Shop, we don’t just work on cars, we fix them.”). A fellow named Gordon R. Kaesemeyer answered. He told me he was busy , but could give me a few minutes.

I asked him about the town’s decision to rename itself Half.com, which, Kaesemeyer told me, turned out to be a rather short-term arrangement. “We just passed a proclamation that lasted for one year.” I asked him whether the town actually got the money and computers promised by Half.com: “Yeah, we got our money and some computers,” he assured me. ” ‘Course that just caused some problems like money always does.” Encouraged by his answers, I thanked him for his time and asked him to put me in touch with Halfway’s mayor.

“That would be me,” he replied.

When you visit Oregon, you can see the sites in Portland and enjoy the skiing near Eugene, but finding a town that survived the Dot Bomb after being bought out by an Internet company is something that’s hard to find. Give Half.com a visit and enjoy the small town charm.